Many may know "13 Reasons Why" as the new Netflix original series that just debuted on March 31st, but I discovered the book it is based off five years ago when I was in eighth grade. I was told I had to get special permission from my mom because the book had to do with some adult topics, and I was still young. Needless to say, I got permission from my mom, and I finished the book in a few days. It became my favorite novel, and to this day, it still is.
For those who don't know the story, I'll give you this brief description:
Clay Jensen comes home one day from school to a box on his doorstep, and when he opens it, there are 13 cassette tapes waiting for him. The 13 tapes were recorded by a classmate, Hannah Baker, who recently committed suicide. Each side of each tape names a person and how they contributed to Hannah's decision to take her own life. The tapes are sent in order of the tapes from individual to individual. Hannah's rules were simple. You listen, and you pass the tapes on when you are done.
When I heard Netflix would be creating a television spin on my favorite book, saying I was excited would be an understatement. This book taught me a lesson that I will keep with me for the rest of my life:
You never know how your words or actions impact someone's life.
You may make what you think is a harmless comment or create a rumor about someone thinking it'll just blow over, but if five other people think the same way, that is a lot of hurt to be put on one person.
The people who hurt Hannah Baker all thought it was just part of being a teenager, being in high school, or just trying to fit in. They had no idea how all of their actions added together could impact Hannah.
All of us can take this to mind and to heart. We must realize that every word we speak and every action we perform can be taken any way by the person it affects. Something we may think is "harmless" can actually run quite deep in a person's psyche. Just think, if one less thing had happened to Hannah Baker, she might have still been alive.
Words and actions CAN hurt. We also must all educate ourselves on the warning signs of depression and suicidal thoughts or actions. Hannah Baker had let out many cries for help, and if just one person had noticed, she still might have been alive.
As humans, we owe it to ourselves to look out for our own kind. We must look past what we see in first impressions and try to open up to those around us. Feeling alone hurts. Feeling like you have nothing left to live for is detrimental.
For someone to feel so hopeless that they must take their own life is something we must learn from. Parents should not have to find their children's lifeless bodies, being left wondering what could've brought their beloved child to do this. Friends of the hurt child should not be left to mourn for the rest of their lives, wondering what could've been done to stop this horrific incident from occurring.
We all only get this one life; one chance to make our time on this Earth count. We all deserve our opportunity to make an impact and celebrate the milestones we dream of. For someone to give up all of this is something I cannot fathom myself, but that person had to be in great amounts of pain to feel like they couldn't be on this Earth anymore.
We all need to learn from Jay Asher's novel, for he teaches us a lesson that many today still do not understand. You never know what is going on in someone's life; you never know what another person is going through. We are all quite capable of hiding so much of our lives and emotions, so it can be hard to pinpoint what a person is truly feeling unless they open up to you.
Suicide is an important topic, and everyone needs to be much more educated about prevention and signs. "13 Reasons Why" is such an important novel, and now TV series, for our society.
Hopefully, we can all learn from Hannah's story.
